


Elemental Four

by Valerie_Vancollie



Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Aether, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Astrology, Attempted Murder, Beaches, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Challenge Response, Character Death, Community: numb3rswriteoff, Drowning, Earth, FBI, Fire, Friendship, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kidnapping, Killing, LiveJournal, LiveJournal Prompt, Major Character Injury, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Mathematicians, Mathematics, Murder, Mythology - Freeform, Mythology References, One Shot, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, POV Don Eppes, POV Female Character, POV Male Character, POV Multiple, Philosophy, Serial Killers, Suspense, Water, air, partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 21:52:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18536179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valerie_Vancollie/pseuds/Valerie_Vancollie
Summary: Don pulled at the chains in desperation as he felt the water lapping at his ankles before it withdrew once more. The tide was rapidly coming in and if he didn't get free soon, he would drown.





	Elemental Four

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old fic being posted here for the first time now that I have an AO3 account. Unlike for my other fic, my original site for this fandom still exists and is [3695](https://valeriev84.livejournal.com).
> 
> **Time:** Season 3  
>  **Spoilers** : _Judgment Call_ , _Mind Games_ , _In Plain Sight_ , _Contenders_ & _One Hour_  
>  **Note:** This fic was written for one of the Angst vs Schmoop Challenges at [numb3rswriteoff](https://numb3rswriteoff.livejournal.com/). It is the Team Angst entry for the word prompt _beach_.

_16 years_  
4 elements  
7 days  
1 goal 

 

Sunday: 2:36 AM, May 18th

 

Don pulled at the chains in desperation as he felt the water lapping at his ankles before it withdrew once more. The tide was rapidly coming in and if he didn't get free soon, he would drown. The chains, though, seemed to have been welded into the large rocks scattered along the beach around where he lay spread-eagle on the sand.

As the next wave came in, bathing his feet once more, Don swore as the saltwater stung the wounds he'd created by pulling at the manacles around his ankles to which the chains were attached. The pain was the least of his worries, though. His limbs had been stretched almost as far apart as possible, meaning he could hardly lift his head. Once the tide reached his face, he'd drown pretty quickly.

The thought had Don pulling at all his limbs in a desperate attempt to free himself, but none of the chains gave an inch. Dropping his head back to the sand, he gazed blankly up at the stars as he caught his breath. The sun had gone down hours ago and while it wasn't too cold out, the fact that he'd been stripped to his underwear and had seawater lapping at his feet caused goose bumps to break out on his skin as he started to shiver.

Don wasn't sure if he'd drifted or not, but the next thing he knew the water was at his waist and his entire lower body vanished in the wave as it rolled along the shore. He shook his head to clear it, wondering not for the first time what the hell she'd put in the dart. McNamara and Polinski had each had different cocktails of drugs in them while Hawkins had obviously had none. Whatever it was, he couldn't afford to succumb to it again; the water was at his chest and rising fast. He suddenly became aware of the fact that he was no longer cold, but wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Fear suddenly swept through Don as he watched another wave roll in, the night giving it a black color so the foam stood out starkly. It looked like a giant swell of liquid obsidian prepared to swallow him whole forever. He didn't want to drown, to struggle for air as water rushed into his lungs while his arms and legs floundered uselessly against their metal restraints. What would he see as the waves rolled over him? Would he loose consciousness quickly or would it happen over and over again as the tide slowly came in, the waves progressively lasting longer until they retreated no more?

That would be the torture component of this situation, a detached portion of Don's brain informed him. The other cases had each contained unique elements of it. The rage and horror he'd felt at each of the scenes came flooding back to him, only now it was tinged with helplessness and terror as the first spray of water reached his jaw.

"Help!" Don called out as he renewed his vain struggles against the manacles and chains.

She'd said no one would hear his pleas, but Don was determined to try. All he needed was for one late night walker to hear him and... and what? They were no more likely to be able to free him from the chains than he was and there simply wasn't enough time to call for help. No emergency service would get here fast enough.

All rational thought left Don as the water rushed in over his face.

* * *

Monday: 11:28 AM, May 12th

 

"What do we have here?" Don asked as he got out of his car.

"A murdered DEA special agent," David stated gravely.

"Murdered? I was told it was a possible accident."

"No, it was definitely no accident. His parachute was cut and the backup rigged so it wouldn't open."

"And how did he fail to notice that before jumping? Aren't they supposed to check their equipment before they get on the plane?"

"I don't know, but I'll ask the instructor."

"Instructor?"

"Agent Hawkins was jumping with a group."

"Where are they?"

"A few miles Northeast of here, at the designated drop zone. Megan went to interview them."

"Good, tell her to let me know how many people we're dealing with and I want all of their equipment checked. Let's make sure Hawkins wasn't merely one of several targets."

"I'm on it."

"Colby," Don greeted as he saw the man come towards him as he made his way up the rocky slope. He frowned as he got a good look at his agent, he looked a little green around the edges. "Is it that bad?"

"He managed to avoid all of the trees and instead hit the ground full force," Colby explained. "The only reason we know who he is, is due to his ID and the name the instructor gave when he called Search and Rescue to report one of his group had gone down. They tracked his locator beacon here."

Don winced as he reached the top of the slope and caught a glimpse of the scene. It made the Finn Montgomery scene look like a pleasant view in comparison. "Your first impact corpse?"

"Yeah."

Don nodded in understanding. "Has the DEA been notified?"

"No, Search and Rescue notified us as it's federal land. They didn't find the badge until we arrived."

"Okay, call the office and let them know. They can have someone contact the DEA."

"I have to head back to the cars to get a signal on the phone."

Don gave a nod of acknowledgement before he reluctantly moved closer to the scene. It was a mess, much worse than any of the jumpers he'd ever seen. Agent Hawkins' remains hardly resembled a human being any longer. He could only imagine what speed he must have been going at when he hit the ground. A wave of horror washed over Don as he wondered what must have been going through the man's mind as he fell. Given the height most parachuters jumped from, he'd have had ample time to realize his plight as he fell through the air.

"Agent Eppes."

Don looked up, attempting to shake off the thought. "What have you got?" he asked as he realized it was one of the crime scene technicians.

"I just thought you'd want to see this before we bag it," the woman said, indicating the main parachute.

"Yes," Don confirmed as he stepped closer. "It was cut, right?"

"Yes. If you look here, you can see six cuts in the center, the most important area."

"Six?" Don repeated as he knelt beside her. "That sounds like overkill."

"You're right. One large cut would have been more than enough to render the parachute useless. If you look at the cuts closely, though, you can see that they seem to form a shape."

"Right, right, I see it. What is that? It looks like an upside-down triangle with a line through one corner."

"That's exactly what I think. Whoever did this used the exact number of cuts necessary to create this shape without actually cutting out any of the fabric."

"Hmm, the question is why," Don said as he got up. "It must be important or he wouldn't have bothered to be so precise."

"That is a question I can't answer."

"Yeah, that part's mine. Good work."

* * *

Monday: 3:07 PM, May 12th

 

"What have you found?" Don asked as he entered the conference room where his team had started putting up photos and information.

"Agent Hawkins was relatively new to parachuting," Megan began. "Not new enough to be required to jump in tandem with an instructor but new enough to have to jump with a group."

"So, new enough to be less likely to notice any tampering with his equipment," Colby commented.

"Or to not check it properly," David added.

"The instructor said the group is reminded to do so before takeoff, but at this level they're no longer supervised every step of the way," Megan stated.

"What about the parachutes and backups of the rest of the group? Any of them show signs of tampering?" Don asked.

"No. They all came back clean."

"So we're probably safe to assume this was a targeted attack."

"It would appear that way."

"What did the DEA say?"

"They want in on the investigation," Colby stated. "Hawkins was part of a team looking into one of the larger sources of cocaine into the city. They fear it may be related to what he was doing."

"Which was what exactly?"

"They don't want to say. Apparently it could jeopardize the operation."

"Yeah, well, it would jeopardize their operation a lot more if whoever did this is after more than one DEA agent. Tell them to send someone over with the information and they can see how the investigation is going. What about the shape that was cut into the parachute?"

"Forensics has sent up some photos," David said as he opened a folder and handed them out.

"Is there a reason it is oriented like this?" Don inquired as he took a copy. This way the line was at the top of a normal triangle.

"Apparently this is the way it would have looked as he was falling."

"I see."

"They don't know what it means though."

"Well, let's show it to the DEA, see if it means anything to them."

"This actually looks sort of familiar," Megan stated with a frown as she taped a copy to the board. "I'm just not sure where I've seen it before."

"Hey, Charlie, Larry," Don greeted with a smile as he turned around and saw them just as they reached the conference room. "What's up? What are the two of you doing here?"

"We had a lecture in the area and were wondering if any of you were up for a break?"

"Sorry, we just got a new case," Don replied, pleased to see Megan had pushed the board with the photos of the body behind one of the others.

"Really? What's it about?" Charlie asked, stepping further into the room. "Can I help?"

"Actually, yes, a DEA agent was murdered this morning and we're going to try and get all the information they have on his present and past cases."

"You're thinking it was someone he put away?"

"It's highly likely. Can you do the same as what you did with Judge Trelane's cases?"

"You mean run a Bayesian filter on them? Sure."

"If I may ask, what does the Grecian symbol for air have to do with the murder of a federal agent?" Larry questioned.

"The Grecian symbol for air?" Colby repeated with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, here," Larry said, tapping the photo of the parachute cuts. "The triangle with the a horizontal line bisecting it's vertex."

"That's why it looked familiar!" Megan exclaimed. "You had a book open on your desk a few weeks ago with this symbol."

"Yes, I was looking back at some of the Plato's work. What is this material it was cut into?"

"A parachute," Don said.

"A parachute," Larry repeated, his eyes going wide. "Oh my. That couldn't have been pretty."

"Wait," Charlie said, going a little pale. "Are you saying he was killed by falling to his death?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Megan confirmed.

"How could he not have noticed this?" Larry questioned. "These cuts aren't exactly small."

"That is something we're going to look into," David stated.

"You say this is the Greek symbol for air," Don said. "You mean as in the four elements?"

"If you go by the lesser Greek theory, yes," Larry confirmed.

"Wait, what do you mean with that?"

"Well, different philosophies believed there to be different numbers of elements. The Chinese had five elements: earth, fire, water, wood and metal. Although, some of the Greeks only believed in four elements, most held there to be a fifth element, namely aether."

"Aether? What was this?"

"The substance the stars consisted of and the material of the gods' world and what they breathed," Charlie explained, his tone clearly indicating how stupid he found the very idea.

"Now Charles, don't be so ready to dismiss the concept," Larry cautioned.

"Oh, come on, you don't really believe the stars are made up of some mysterious substance unlike anything found on Earth, do you?"

"I'm not saying that I do. I am merely saying that you shouldn't be so willing to dismiss out of hand the idea that we may not yet know all the elements."

"The whole idea of there being only four or five elements is ridiculous," Charlie argued.

"Nevertheless, we need to look into a possible connection here," Don interjected. "Larry, can you tell Megan what you know on the topic and any other symbols associated with the elements?"

"You think there will be more murders?" David asked.

"Potentially. Colby, I still want you to show the symbol to the DEA, check that it doesn't also mean something to them. Charlie-"

"What, you still want my help?" Charlie demanded sarcastically. "You sure you don't want to call in your psychic? This should be right up his alley."

"Ancient symbols aside, there will still be a modern reason behind this murder," Don said, knowing to argue the point with his brother was useless when he got into one of his moods. "I need you to see if you can find me some likely candidates when Colby gets the files. Hawkins must have been chosen for a reason. David, let's go see if we can discover how Hawkins managed to jump with two defective parachutes."

* * *

Wednesday: 8:25 AM, May 14th

 

"Eppes," Don said, answering his cell as he came to a stop at a red light.

"It's Walker here."

"Lieutenant, what can I do for you?"

"Actually it's the other way around. I got a memo across my desk early yesterday about that DEA agent that was murdered."

"Oh, you got something for me about that?"

"Maybe. I just arrived at the scene of a homicide and it turns out the victim is probably ATF."

"Probably?"

"We found a badge and ID on site, but the body is too badly damaged for a visual identification. Given that this could be the second federal agent that has been killed in three days, I thought it might be related."

"Yes. Tell me, Gary, there wouldn't happen to be some kind of geometric symbol near the body, would there?"

"There's a triangle. That some kind of calling card?"

"Perhaps. How was he killed?"

"It would appear that Agent McNamara was burned alive."

Don swore as he felt the horror from two days ago return. "Where are you?"

"In the industrial park in Wilmington."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Don said before he hung up. 

He turned on his lights and siren and pulled out just as the light turned green. As he drove, Don hit number two on his speed dial.

"Reeves."

"Megan, I just got a call from Lieutenant Walker, it looks like we may have another body, ATF this time. He was burned alive and Walker said there was a triangle on scene."

"A triangle is the Grecian symbol for fire, as long as it's not upside-down."

"Call Colby and David, I want you and Colby at the scene with me. Tell David to head into the office and start pulling information on Agent McNamara, see if he can be contacted or not as there's still a possibility the body isn't him."

"Shall I have him alert ATF?"

"Yeah, have them send over his DNA and dental records so the ME can make a definite ID quickly."

* * *

Wednesday: 8:45 AM, May 14th

 

"You sure know how to pick'em, Eppes," Gary said as Don got out of his car.

"What? Killers with Ancient Greek leanings and a grudge against federal agents?"

"Ancient Greek leanings?"

"The triangle is their symbol for fire."

Gary snorted as he led Don between the cruisers towards the scene. "We've left him as we found him. First officer on scene checked for a pulse before securing the area."

"How'd he find it?"

"An employee in one of the neighboring buildings called to report a suspicious smell. I got called in as it's not the first time we've found a body here."

"Dumping ground?"

"Yes, but I can tell you this isn't anything like the usual. We normally find bodies with bullet holes, nothing like this."

As they cleared the last cars, Don's nose twitched as the stench hit him full force. The air was weighed down with it and he knew from experience that it would take a long time to get it out of his clothes and off his skin. Underneath the reek of burnt flesh, he could just detect a hint of gasoline.

The charred remains of a human body lay in the middle of large chalk triangle. Don instantly regretted having David stay at the office instead of Megan as he was sure this would trigger memories of the bust on Lambert's house. The area around the body had streaks of ash and the shiny gleam of unburned gasoline. About a hundred meters away lay a charred shoe. Don's breath caught in realization.

"Yeah, he wasn't restrained when he was put alight," Gary stated, his voice tight with anger.

The horror from earlier rose within Don again, followed swiftly by rage. McNamara and Hawkins weren't just murdered, they were tortured first. One was made to fall to his death from ten thousand feet and the other burned alive.

"Nobody heard anything?" Don asked, looking about.

"No one was here but for the security guards of some of the companies and they never hear anything."

* * *

Wednesday: 12:34 AM, May 14th

 

David only needed one whiff of his teammates to be glad he'd gotten stuck with the office work.

"Neil McNamara hasn't shown up for work yet today and no one can contact him."

"Great, so we have a potential serial killer who likes to target federal agents," Don said as he dropped into a chair and rubbed his face with his hands. "Was McNamara working a case?"

"Not at the moment. He and his team just wrapped one up," David replied. "I have, however, found a link between Hawkins and McNamara, but it's old."

"How old?" Megan queried.

"It's from 1992. The DEA and ATF worked a case together with the FBI. Hawkins and McNamara were part of the operation."

"FBI? Oh, our next victim could be one of ours," Colby stated.

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Don countered. "Was there a fourth agency involved?"

"No. The thing is, Hawkins and McNamara weren't leading either of their teams, they were just part of the overall operation."

"If this is vengeance, then something must have happened that they were more directly involved with," Megan said. "Do we have the specifics of the case?"

"I've got people pulling the FBI files and a promise from both the DEA and ATF that their files will be here this afternoon."

"All right, let's see if we can find the exact connection between the two and who else might be next," Don stated. "Larry said there were four main elements, right?"

"He still insists five was more common, but given the, uh, evanescent nature of the fifth, we really only need to worry about four," Megan responded.

"So we have water and earth left," Colby commented.

"Earth will probably be next."

"Why do you say that?" Don questioned.

"Because of this," Megan said as she got up and grabbed one of Charlie's markers and drew a diamond on the board. "Since we had air first, I'll put it here," she wrote the word next to the left corner, "we then had fire, so I'll put that here," this time she wrote it on top. "Now if we used just the diamond, we could have either earth or water next, but the Greeks ascribed certain properties to each of the elements."

"Properties?" Colby asked.

"Yes, like air is both wet and hot, while water is both wet and cold. Each element has two properties, but there are only four properties overall."

"So each property applies to two elements?"

"Yes, exactly. There are primary and secondary properties, but I don't think that's important for now. See, the way the Greeks would put it into diagram form is like this," Megan drew a square within the diamond with each corner of the square touching the middle of one of the diamond's sides. "And they wrote the properties in here. Since air is both hot and dry, one property would be written where the square touches the diamond on either side."

"And since air and fire share hot, that has to go between those two elements," Don finished, catching on.

"Exactly. So, since both fire and earth were considered dry, earth must follow fire in order to properly complete the pattern."

"Hey, guys," Charlie said as he breezed into the room with his laptop. "I've identified the cases most likely to have resulted in so violent a murder."

"Actually, we think we know which one it is," Don replied. "A combined DEA-ATF-FBI case from '92."

"What?" Charlie looked up from his computer. "No, that doesn't make sense, my expression didn't flag that. Why do you think it's relevant?"

"Because it's the only connection between Hawkins and our second victim," David explained.

"Second victim?"

"Yes, Charlie, LAPD found another body this morning, killed by fire this time," Don said. "Special Agent Neil McNamara of the ATF."

"It doesn't make sense, though," Charlie insisted. "My expression should have at least flagged that case."

"Not necessarily," Megan countered. "You were using different parameters, just like we were. With Hawkins we thought we were dealing with a single homicide."

"And thus a killer motivated to kill him, when really I need to be looking for someone willing to kill several people."

"Exactly," Megan agreed. "We're potentially looking at a serial killer here."

"You think he'll kill again?"

"Well, we don't know, but there are four elements," Don pointed out. "So it's likely he will as earth and water are still left. Any chance of you being able to predict where he might strike next?"

"Not really, no. There isn't enough data for me to work with as we essentially only have one value."

"Oh? We have two scenes," Colby said.

"Yes, but the first was chosen by Hawkins; he liked to parachute and it was his choice as to where and when he did it. I'm assuming the second murder wasn't like this."

"No, McNamara was probably taken to the scene and killed there," Don informed him.

"So, basically, we only have one instance of our killer choosing his location and that's not nearly enough for me to work with. Sorry."

"No, that's okay. Do you think you can have a look at the case Hawkins and McNamara worked together and see of you can identify any other likely targets?"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

Friday: 4:56 PM, May 16th

 

"Don, we just got a call on the tip line," David said. "The person didn't give much, just that earth could be found near Glendale."

"Earth," Megan repeated. "That's what I said."

"At least there are only four," Don muttered. "David, I want a forensics team sent to that location immediately, then call the locals, have them send a unit over in case it's not to late, but tell them to be careful."

"Right away."

"I'm not so sure he'll stop at four," Megan stated as she followed Don to the elevator.

"You think he's got a taste for it now?"

"Most serial killers don't just stop and even when they do, it's only a matter of time before something sets them off again."

"So, what? If we don't catch him now, this'll all happen again in a few years?"

"Probably," Megan confirmed as they got on the elevator. "Plus there's his choice of victims to consider. Going after federal agents is dangerous on several levels. Not only are we trained and armed, but it angers the entire LEO community and comes with an automatic death penalty, especially when there's torture involved."

"True. Now, earth. What do you think? Buried alive?"

"That's a definite possibility," Megan agreed with a shudder.

* * *

Friday: 5:21 PM, May 16th

 

"What have we got?" Don asked the young officer standing beside his vehicle.

"I'm not sure," Ramirez replied. "My partner and I checked out the area, but all we found was a mark on the ground and a DHS badge."

"Show us."

"DHS," Megan mused as they walked. "Well, there goes our theory about it being the case Hawkins and McNamara worked together, the DHS didn't exist in '92."

"So we're back to square one."

"Not exactly. The DHS is the third federal agency he's hit, he's not repeating them."

"A general grudge against federal agencies? What are the chances of the FBI being next?"

"For a mathematically accurate answer, you'd need to ask Charlie, but I'd say pretty good."

"I'll see if Wright will let me send out a warning to everyone at the office. If he follows his pattern, water will be next."

"Drowning," Megan agreed.

"Here we are," Ramirez stated as they reached an older police officer who was inspecting an area of the ground.

"Let me guess, earth?" Don asked as he came to stand next to the officer to see an inverted triangle traced into the dirt with a horizontal line through the bottom tip. Laying in the center of the triangle was a DHS badge.

"Yes," Megan confirmed as she looked around. "Where is the body?"

"Body?" the older cop questioned, looking up sharply.

"A killer leaves these markings at his scenes," Megan explained briefly.

"Well, if we're correct, that he buried this victim alive, then we need to be looking for disturbed earth," Don stated just as he saw David and Colby come into view followed by the other agents and a forensics team. "Guys, I need photos of the area over here and I want everyone else to fan out. We're looking for a DHS agent who may have been buried, so look for any signs that the soil has been disturbed recently."

Megan and Don took the area towards the East, moving as quickly as they dared without running the risk of missing anything. 

"Over here!" the cry finally came.

"Oh yeah, something was buried here," Don agreed as he arrived and looked at the disturbed soil and slight depression in the ground. "Okay, let's get some shovels and start digging. I want everyone not doing so to continue searching."

"You think it might be a decoy?" Megan asked.

"I don't want to take any chances."

"You know, he wouldn't have called us until he knew his victim was dead."

"Maybe he got cocky. What about that phone call anyway? Let's see if we can get anything from that."

"I'll call and get the techs working on it."

Don stayed near where the digging had begun but made sure he didn't get in the way. Since the soil was already loose, they were making good progress.

"Any luck?" Megan asked when she returned.

"Not yet," Don replied. "What about you?"

"Not much. Li had already started analyzing the call and says it was made from a public phone near the train station and that the caller used a voice distortion device."

"So, nothing?"

"Not really. Li said he'd keep working on it and let us know."

"Agent Eppes!"

Don moved forwards quickly. "What have you got?"

"I'm not sure," it was the same woman as from the Hawkins scene. "But we've found shards of glass in the soil."

"Did a shovel break something?" Don asked as he took the container she handed him.

The glass fragments were large and thick, though there were a series of small cracks in most of them.

"No, we'd have heard it. Besides, these are strain cracks, made from having too much pressure put on the glass."

"What? Like the weight of the soil?"

"It's possible."

"That could be it," Megan declared. "Look at how he killed Hawkins and McNamara, both were allowed to know that they were going to die and how it would happen. The killer wanted this agent to know he was buried alive, and the best way to do that is to have him enclosed in a glass coffin."

"Then he underestimated the weight of the soil," the woman commented.

"Or it was done intentionally," Don realized. "So far he's used the elements to kill his victims. The only way for earth to do so instead of him suffocating is by having the glass break."

"Dumping all the soil directly onto the agent," Megan finished.

"If that's true, then we can't use the shovels anymore," the woman said before she spun around and started issuing orders.

"We need to catch this guy," Don stated as he watched them work. "Now."

"Don, Megan," Colby said as he joined them. "The initial sweep of the area shows nothing. Do you want us to widen the search grid?"

"No, I think we got the body right here."

Sure enough, a few minutes later the technicians were dusting soil off a fresh corpse.

"Special Agent Andrew Polinski," David declared as he walked up to them. "Just got the badge number back, that looks exactly how DHS described him."

"Let's see if Polinski was involved in the '92 case," Don said.

* * *

Friday: 9:47 PM, May 16th

 

"Tell me someone has something," Don said as he entered the conference room.

"Sorry, I can find no connection between Polinski and the '92 case," Megan replied.

"McNamara and Polinski did work a case together last year involving explosives, but there's no connection to Hawkins," David continued.

"Charlie? What about you?" Don asked hopefully.

"I've added Polinski's data to my expression, but I can't seem to find any relevant connection between all three of the agents," Charlie responded. "I'm going to switch tracks and see if I can't predict who the killer might choose next by analyzing what the first three victims had in common outside of any links between them."

"Charlie may have a point there," Megan said. "From the beginning we've been thinking that these attacks are targeted, that the killer chose his victims for something they did. What if that's wrong? What if he's been choosing them for their applicability to the scenarios he wants to create?"

"Hawkins because he parachutes and the killer needed something to do with air," Colby extrapolated.

"Exactly."

"But there wasn't anything so specific with McNamara and Polinski," Don argued. "He could have chosen any agent for those killings, so why them?"

"I don't know, but there must be something there," Megan replied. "Something specific."

"Well, do you still think the FBI is likely next?"

"Given that he seems to be going through agencies, yes, it's quite possible."

"I'll see if Wright will let me send out a general warning. Charlie, you let me know the moment you have something."

"Sure," Charlie promised.

* * *

Saturday: 7:01 PM, May 17th

 

Don yawned as he pulled his car into the parking lot outside his apartment building. At least to himself, he could admit that Megan was right; he was exhausted and running on empty. He just had a hard to time making himself go home and sleep when he had a case like this. A case where the bodies were piling up almost faster than they could keep up with and where they knew for certain that there would be more. And if Megan was right about their killer...

No, he wasn't going to go there, not now. He would get out of the car, head upstairs to his apartment and take quick shower before catching a few hours sleep. Once that was accomplished and with something to eat, he could sit down and take another look at the case. Perhaps there was something there that he was just missing because he was too tired.

Now all he had to do was follow his plan. Which was easier said then done, Don realized as he turned off the engine and got out. His mind seemed to want to think about the case regardless of his good intentions.

"Agent Eppes?"

"Yes," Don said as he turned.

Had he been fully awake, Don was sure that he'd have been able to react in time. As it was, he'd barely been able to catch a glimpse of a young woman dressed in dark clothing and holding a gun before he felt the sting of a dart against his chest. Looking down in disbelief, he pulled it free with his left hand even as his right reached for his gun. The Glock felt impossibly heavy as he tried to pull it from the holster and it slipped from his grasp entirely just as he managed to tug it free.

The ground rushed up at him and Don felt a flash of fear as he realized exactly what was happening just before everything went dark.

* * *

Saturday: 8:58 PM, May 17th

 

"This is getting us nowhere," Colby declared as he dropped the file he was reading into the box full of the other ones he'd looked through.

"Then I'm right on time," Charlie stated as he appeared at the cubicle. "I've got something for you guys."

"Great," David said, getting up and signaling Megan across the bullpen.

"Where's Don?" Charlie asked when he was done hooking his laptop up in the conference room and didn't spot his brother.

"Megan convinced him to go home and get some rest," Colby replied.

"You convinced Don to leave in the middle of an ongoing case of this nature?" Charlie demanded incredulously. "How?"

"I have my ways," Megan merely replied. "What have you got for us?"

"I think I might be able to narrow down the list of targets for you. See, Larry kept insisting that I take a look at the way the Greeks viewed the elements. It turns out that their belief in them found its way into how they viewed astrology."

"You mean like water signs and fire signs?"

"Yes," Charlie agreed, surprised. "Don't tell me you believe in that zodiac nonsense."

"Well, you have to admit, Charlie, that some of it's scarily accurate."

"Only because you discount the parts that aren't. If someone gives enough adjectives to describe people of a particular sign, then there are bound to be ones like the person in question. That doesn't make them able to predict anything based on a sign. It just means they covered all of the possibilities."

"What about this, Charlie?" David asked.

"Well, I had a look at your victims and Hawkins was a Libra, McNamara an Aries and Polinski a Capricorn. Libra is an air sign, Aries a fire sign and Capricorn an earth sign."

"So he's choosing his victims to match the element he kills them with."

"What are the water signs?" Colby questioned.

"Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces," Charlie stated. "So if you rule out any agents not born in those times, you'll hopefully have a more manageable number."

"Okay, Colby see if you can get us a list of all the agents born in those times," Megan ordered. "I'll call Don and fill him in."

"Here, I'll help," Charlie said as he sat next to Colby. "I have an expression I wrote that we can run the names against to rank them in order of most similar to the previous victims."

Megan smiled and shook her head as she watched. Her good humor didn't last long. Even with a reduced list, they were likely to have too many agents to watch and they were rapidly running out of time. If the killer stayed true to his pattern, they would have another body by some time tomorrow. If the killer only wanted four bodies to match the four elements, then this could be their last opportunity to catch him. If not, then they'd have more chances but also more bodies.

"Hey, this is Special Agent Don Eppes; leave a message, I'll get back to you."

"Hey, Don, it's Megan, Charlie's got something for us you'll want to hear. Please call me back when you get this."

"He's not answering?" David inquired, puzzled.

"No," Megan replied with a frown. "Perhaps he's taking a shower."

"Maybe," David said, though a feeling of dread started to creep in.

"There, we've got the list," Colby said.

"I'm just running it through my algorithm now," Charlie added.

"How long will it take?" Megan asked.

"Not long," Charlie said as names and numbers appeared on screen. "Let me just put the most likely candidates on top."

Megan's breath caught in her throat as the list rearranged itself and Don's name appeared on top with a 94% probability. Of course, mid-July was Cancer. A keening noise pulled her from her shock to see Charlie staring at the screen, white as a ghost.

"He's got him," David stated with horror. "He's already got Don, that's why he didn't answer."

"What?" Colby demanded.

"My call went straight to voicemail," Megan said, trying again with no success. "Shit. David, get a few agents together, have them check out Don's apartment now, then get teams together for a search and rescue. Colby, get a warning out to LAPD, SWAT and all local agencies. Charlie, I need you to- Charlie?"

"Don," Charlie whispered in horror. "He's going after Don. He wants to kill Don."

"We're not going to let that happen," Megan stated fiercely. "But we're going to need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes. I need a list of likely locations where he might have taken Don."

"I can't," Charlie stated hopelessly. "There isn't enough data."

"Yes there is, there must be. Besides, we know more than you may realize."

"Like what?"

"Well, he called in Polinski, so he wants us to find his victims, but he's always chosen a location that will also provide him privacy when he's... busy."

"So? There are lots of places where it's quiet at night."

"But how many of those are at large bodies of water?"

Charlie blinked as he turned his face to look at her. "Of course, the fourth element!"

"Exactly," Megan stated, glad to see him coming back to them. "Look, I know it may cover a large area, but I need you to provide us with a search grid. LAPD will help us as will all the agents still here, we just need a starting point."

* * *

Sunday: 1:11 AM, May 18th

 

Don groaned as his head felt ready to explode.

What had happened to him? He could remember Megan threatening to do serious harm if he didn't go home and rest, but he was pretty sure he hadn't tested her on that. So why did he feel like he'd gone a round with David's old friend from the Bronx and lost?

No that wasn't it, his head didn't merely feel pounded on, it felt like it was stuffed with cotton. It was all fuzzy and slow. Yeah, he recognized that feeling; he'd been drugged.

The thought sent a jolt of adrenaline through him and Don's eyes snapped open. He had to blink a few times before he realized that he was looking up at the night sky, a sky dark enough for him to see a sea of stars. That was odd, LA normally had far too much light to see the stars like this. Where was he?

Don tried to sit up only to discover with a start that he couldn't move his arms or legs. A quick inspection proved that he had been stripped to his underwear and was tied down on his back, spread-eagle on a beach. Confusion was quickly followed by fear as he slowly realized what had happened. They'd been wrong, their killer wasn't a man, it was a woman. A woman who had ambushed and captured him. He was her chosen fourth, the one to be killed by water.

Water.

The breath caught in Don's throat as a possibility occurred to him. He lifted his head as far as he could and glanced down past his feet at the ocean beyond. Was it his imagination or was the tide coming in? Were those waves coming further up the beach? No, it didn't look like it, but considering who he was dealing with and given his current position, he was sure he'd guessed correctly. She'd tied him down to drown when the tide came in.

He had the vaguest recollection of waking up before, but it was hazy like a half remembered dream just after waking; the kind that had already vanished by the time he'd gotten out of bed. If it wasn't for the fact that he remembered _her_ in it, he would have dismissed it. She'd been talking, saying something about hawks and heaven and cancer.

Don shook his head, perhaps it had been a dream.

But no, that wasn't right. He could now distinctly remember her face as she'd leaned over him, a delighted smile on her face. He could recall the disgust as she'd touched his face, whispering to him. What had she said? He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the memory. It had been something about needing to prepare or she'd stay to watch and savor the moment. Prepare for what though? He wasn't sure if she'd told him as her words seemed to drift in and out of his memory. One thing he did remember clearly were her parting words.

"Cry out all you want, Agent," the title had been laced with disgust and hate. "But I promise you that no one will hear your screams."

* * *

Sunday: 2:49 AM, May 18th

 

Panic slammed into Don and he pulled at his chains as the water washed over his face. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone again, running down the beach. Gasping, he took several deep breaths, lifting his head so that he'd see the next one coming. Right when the panic had retreated enough for him to think, he saw the next wave rushing at him. Straining as far as he could, he managed to keep his mouth and nose above the water this time, only to drop to the sand as soon as it retreated once more.

He couldn't keep this up for long.

The thought chilled Don as he jerked frantically at the manacles, feeling his wounds open again.

* * *

Sunday: 2:55 AM, May 18th

 

Colby's fingers tapped nervously against the side of the car as it sped along the highway, lights flashing and siren blaring. There wasn't much traffic out this way, but David was going fast enough for them to be warranted regardless. In the side mirror, he could see the lights of the SWAT car behind them. Although not their regular type of assignment, Megan had thought it best to send SWAT members to the top few locations for the expertise and tools they carried. After having seen the setup from Polinski's murder, she knew they could be dealing with some type of contraption.

"Come on, come on," Colby urged as visions of his boss' dead body swam before his eyes.

"I'm going as fast as I can," David snapped as he took a turn far faster than he should.

The winding ocean road meandered along the coastline, constantly twisting and turning. There wasn't much in the way of good beaches here, but there were a few areas where locals and tourists came to see the seals. Colby bit back a nasty response and kept his eyes glued to the road ahead, looking for the signpost indicating the next parking with sea access. Although he loved the ocean, he hardly ever came this way, preferring the surfing areas instead.

It had been at their third stop that David had noticed the tide was coming in and Colby knew with horrifying certainty that when it was fully in, Don would be dead. As Charlie had worked, he'd wondered if there wasn't a possibility of his boss being dumped out at sea, but Megan had pointed out that the killer wanted his victims found, and sooner rather than later. Hopefully that desire would allow them to reach Don in time.

But would he be okay?

Although he tried to avoid it, Colby's mind kept going back to the previous victims. They'd each been tortured in some fashion before they'd died. What was Don going through even now?

"There!" Colby exclaimed as he caught sight of the sign.

"I see it," David replied, slowing down.

"Unit 3, what is your position?" the voice came over the radio just as Colby made to report in.

"Control, this is Unit 3, we are just at location 11," Colby replied.

"Location 11, copy."

"Let's hope he's here," Colby said as they pulled into the parking.

"Yeah," David agreed.

* * *

Sunday: 2:59 AM, May 18th

 

Don's ankles and wrists were stinging constantly now as he kept making the wounds deeper and the salt water kept aggravating them. The wounds were definitely adding a red tint to the water and he was lucky he was on the beach instead of further out or he'd be attracting sharks.

The moment the water retreated once more, Don gasped for breath, knowing it would be back almost instantly. The waves kept washing over him now and his feet no longer came out of the water. He only had minutes left before the water would no longer retreat from his face. As the next wave crashed over him and his world became awash in dark blues and greens, he felt tears form as he'd failed to close his eyes in time. He fought back the urge to cough and briefly wondered why he bothered. All he was doing was prolonging the agony for himself; he was doing exactly what she wanted him to do. If he just gave up and stopped trying to outlast the water, it would all be over so much faster...

The moment he started to feel the water pull back, Don lifted his head to be able to breathe faster. He tried to shove the tempting thought out of his mind. He'd never been one to give up as long as there was a chance of success or hope and he wasn't about to start now. As long as he was alive there was a chance his team would find and save him. Try as he might, though, the thought lingered.

When the next wave rushed forwards, Don squeezed his eyes shut to prevent any additional salt from getting into them as they already stung enough. And to think he'd used to love coming to the beach when he had the time. Sun, sand, sports and girls in skimpy clothing, what wasn't to like? Water, apparently. Pity there weren't beaches without water.

"-on!"

It took Don a second to realize that he wasn't just hearing the rush of water on sand as the wave swept back.

He'd actually heard a voice!

"Can you hear us?" the voice was faint and broke up in the wind, but it was definitely David's.

"Help!" Don screamed as loudly as his abused throat would allow. He'd inadvertently swallowed some seawater earlier and it made his throat feel raw, but this was the chance he'd been waiting for. "Down he-"

Don snapped his mouth shut just before the water flooded his face once more. He could only hope he'd been heard as he doubted he had more than three or four more goes at it before the tide would be far enough in for him to drown.

* * *

Sunday: 3:00 AM, May 18th

 

"Don!" Colby yelled as he approached the narrow path that wound down from the cliff like edge of the road to the rocky beach below.

"Can you hear us?" David called out as they ran down the rough steps as quickly as possible.

"Help!" the cry was faint and hoarse, but it stopped them in their tracks. "Down he-"

Colby felt his heart leap into his throat as he stormed downwards. He could hardly recognize the voice but was sure it was Don's. The way it had cut off mid word, though, left a sinking feeling in his stomach. Why wasn't he calling out now?

"Control, this is Unit 3, we have found Agent Eppes. Request immediate assistance at location 11," David reported in as he followed his partner. He could just hear the rush of movement behind him as the two SWAT officers grabbed their gear.

"Unit 3, what is Agent Eppes' condition?"

"Currently unknown. We've had audio contact only, but it was cut off."

"Copy."

"Don!" Colby called out. "Don!"

"Don, man, come on," David shouted. "Hang in there."

"Help!" Don's cry came suddenly. "Down here, to the left on-"

"Why does he keep cutting off?" David questioned as they reached the landing halfway down.

"I don't know," Colby replied, taking the stairs three at a time. "Don! Left where?"

"Unit 3, all available units in the vicinity have been rerouted to your location. ADIC requests a report as soon as feasible."

"Understood, Control," David hastily replied.

"Ov-er here," Don's voice was far weaker now and it sounded like he was coughing badly in the middle. "David?"

"Coming!" David called back, desperately hoping it would have Don hold on long enough for them to get there.

If they got this close only to lose him now... he didn't even want to consider the possibility.

Colby sprang the last seven steps down into the sand and rushed around a rock outcropping onto the beach itself. He scanned the area, desperately seeking it for clues about his boss. All he could see were three sets of footprints between him and the water; two going and one returning. He grabbed the butt of his gun as he cautiously but quickly made his way towards the left end of the beach.

"Don! Where are you?"

"At least it's a small beach," David declared as he joined Colby.

"Yeah, but I still can't se-"

"Here!"

"Shit!" Colby swore as he took off across the sand, glad he'd gotten good at it in Afghanistan.

Colby had only gotten a quick glimpse of Don, but it had been more than enough to understand just how dire the situation was. He didn't think David had spotted their boss' face when it had briefly emerged from the water, as he'd been looking in a different direction, but he knew his partner would follow his lead.

* * *

Sunday: 3:04 AM, May 18th

 

Don's lungs burned and he had to fight the instinct to open his mouth and gasp for air. In calling out, he'd been practically unable to get any air despite the fact that he'd desperately needed it. He could only hope he'd been both heard and located or this was it. The fact that he was just as firmly tied down as before help had arrived swam into his thoughts.

How the hell were they going to free him?

The eerie sound of water on sand changed abruptly with the introduction of a series of splashes at regular intervals. Don turned his head towards the sounds and opened one eye, bracing himself for the sting. He could briefly make out a dark object before it vanished only to reappear closer to him. Looking up, he could make out a beam of light playing across the surface of the water.

Involuntarily, Don jerked at his restraints once more as the need for air increased to almost unbearable levels. It took all of his will power to keep his mouth shut. The fact that he could see how shortly above him the surface of the sea was, only made it worse. With a loud splash, a pair of knees came crashing down onto the sand next to him. Darkness began to enter his vision even as he felt a pair of hands tilting his head back. In his panic he'd opened his other eye and he could see Colby's distorted face approaching.

As he was struggling to hold onto consciousness, it wasn't until Colby crushed his mouth against his own, that Don realized what the younger agent intended. The instant he grasped the meaning, he opened his mouth and greedily accepted the precious air offered. It took a supreme effort to shut his mouth again when Colby tapped his chin.

Just as the younger man pulled away, Don felt hands on his right arm. They felt along his arm towards his wrist and he could feel them pulling at the manacle. The hard bite of panic started to set in again; yes, his team was here, but now what? Colby couldn't keep up this CPR-ish breathing for him indefinitely and even if they had an oxygen tank with them, there was no way to get it on him as he'd inevitably end up inhaling seawater first.

Were they just delaying the inevitable?

* * *

Sunday: 3:03 AM, May 18th

 

"Colby, I don't see him," David said as he followed his partner across the beach.

"He's in the water," Colby replied as he pulled out his flashlight and ran into the waves before slowing, not wanting to step on Don by accident. "That's why he kept breaking off, the waves were washing over him."

David cursed as he pulled his own flashlight and started to search.

"Got him!" Colby called out as he dropped to his knees in the water.

Don appeared to have been stripped of clothing and was lying stretched out on the sand. Colby released the breath he'd been unconsciously holding as he saw his boss' head move. At least he was still conscious, though he wouldn't be for long if he didn't get any air soon and it looked like the tide was too far in for that at this point.

"See if you can get him loose," Colby said as David appeared next to him.

"What about you?" David questioned but then shook his head as Colby dropped his head under the water. "Over here," he called out instead, waving his light so the SWAT officers could locate them easily.

David then stuffed the light in his jacket and reached for Don's arm. The wrist was encased in some type of restraint and a few quick tugs showed it to be solid. He cursed as he felt the metal chain attached to the manacle and it too refused to budge when he pulled at it. No doubt Don had already tried that.

"What is it?" Colby asked, taking a few quick breaths. "Can you get him loose?"

"No, it's all metal."

"Crap," Colby uttered before he took a deep breath and plunged his head under the water once more.

"Oh, Christ," Perez stated as she reached them. "What do we have?"

"Metal restraints and chains holding him down," David stated, following the chain towards a rock. "They appear to be welded to the rock. Do you guys have anything that will cut through the chains or lock? Granger's already providing air for Don."

"Give me some light," Perez ordered as she knelt down at Don's wrist while her partner started going through the tools they'd brought with them.

"Unit 3, what is Agent Eppes' status?"

"Control, Agent Eppes is conscious but in the water. He has been tied down with what appears to be metal manacles and chains that have been welded to the rocks. SWAT is inspecting now and Agent Granger is providing oxygen via mouth-to-mouth. Please advise on best course of medical action."

"Unit 3, please standby."

"Like I have something better to do," David muttered helplessly.

"Jesus," Perez snarled as a wave caught her off-guard when she'd leaned forwards to inspect the manacle through the water. "Shanagan, bring the torch."

"Torch?" Colby inquired as he surfaced again.

"It's an acetylene one."

Colby merely grunted before going under once more. So far he seemed to be getting enough air to Don as he was still conscious and reacting to the aid being given, but as the tide rose further, it would become more difficult to administer. If they got through this, he had no doubt David would find ample ways to amuse himself with the delivery method of the aid given. The almost desperate way Don sucked in the air, though, made Colby painfully aware of the fact that he'd take any amount of teasing if it meant saving Don's life.

"Let me know when you need me to take over," David said as soon as he surfaced once more.

"Yeah, I'm good for now," Colby replied, wondering if the slight burn in his lungs was anything compared to what Don had been feeling when they'd arrived.

* * *

Sunday: 3:10 AM, May 18th

 

Don fought the urge to pull at the chains out of sheer frustration and mounting panic. From what little he could see, there were several people crowded around his right arm which he tried to believe could only be a good thing. There was no point in hurting himself even more with a futile effort now that help had arrived. Besides, it would only waste precious air. The problem was he'd never been any good at just waiting around, and with his life on the line...

Now that he could no longer fight the tide to breathe, Don found the whole world around him seemed to be thrown into confusion. Sounds were muffed and delayed. He could hear that the people around him were talking, but he couldn't make out what was being said. His vision was distorted and tinted in various shades of blue, green, purple and occasionally black when a flashlight was pointed in another direction. The sudden shafts of light briefly illuminated the area, letting him see the sand and seashells that tumbled and danced with the motion of the waves as the tide continued to come in as it always had.

The hands on his face startled him and Don glanced up at Colby's concerned face. Had he drifted? He wasn't sure. Taking in the offered air, he wished there was some way he could convey his gratitude to Colby. Instead he could do literally nothing. He jerked at the chains in anger before he could stop himself.

* * *

Sunday: 3:15 AM, May 18th

 

"Is that safe?" David asked in worry as Shanagan waded towards them with the torch.

"It's all we've got," Perez countered just as she felt the chain rattle. "Damn, we're going to have to prevent him from doing that while we cut."

"What? Restrain him further?" David questioned in disbelief. "He won't react well to that."

"To stop him from hurting himself, yes. Besides, there's a good chance the heat will be transferred along the chain to the manacle."

"So we're going to burn him too."

"Hopefully by using the torch at a point near the rock, we'll prevent that, but it's a possibility," Shanagan replied sympathetically. "It's the only way to get him free."

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Shanagan and I shall do the actual cutting, so either you or Granger needs to hold his hand still. Oh, and see if you can get him to keep his eyes closed."

"Got it," Colby said, having come up in time to hear the last part. "Wish we could warn him."

"I know," David replied as he got into position. Sometimes he hated his job.

* * *

Sunday: 3:19 AM, May 18th

 

Don wondered if it was his imagination or if Colby was taking longer to get back to him. Movement towards his right caught his attention and he glanced over to see someone kneeling in the water near his hand just as he felt hands at his wrist once more. Unlike before, they were taking hold of his wrist itself and not the manacle. Before he could ponder why, Colby was back, only he was turning his head towards the left.

Confused, Don did as directed before taking in the offered air. His nervousness increased when fingers ran over his eyes, closing them. Hoping it meant they were going to try something, he kept his eyes shut, but Colby didn't remove his hand. Just lying still increased his nervousness, especially now that he couldn't see. His sudden tension must have been obvious as whoever was holding his wrist squeezed it reassuringly. David?

At first Don could detect nothing and his whole world was reduced to Colby supplying him with air, the feel of the water as the current swept the tide further in and the unidentifiable noises. A new sound started up suddenly, sounding like a roar compared to the previous sounds. He tensed further, his hands clenching and it was with a jolt that he realized his right hand was being pinned down even further. Panic overrode rational thought in an instant and he struggled against the hold the hands had on his, ignoring Colby's attempts to get his attention. It wasn't until his lungs started to burn once more that he responded to the younger agent, the need for air winning over the need to be free.

While gasping in the air, Don was forcefully reminded that he wasn't alone and that his team was here to help him, not harm him. With Bradford he'd started the slow process of changing himself and learning to truly trust those he worked with. Now he wasn't given a choice, he had to rely on them, but how he went about that would make a huge difference to his sanity and potentially even to the outcome. By struggling, he was making everything harder and diminishing his own chances of survival by wearing himself out. With a supreme effort, he forced himself to relax a fraction.

* * *

Sunday: 3:22 AM, May 18th

 

David cursed as Don's hand clenched before he suddenly started to struggle, tugging frantically.

"He's trying to move," David warned Perez and Shanagan.

"Get him to stop!" Perez ordered.

"Easier said than done," David muttered, his heart clenching at the panic behind the efforts even as he noted how weak they were. "Colby!"

"He's not paying attention to me," Colby retorted before he went under again.

The water around them was getting deeper and with Don's thrashing, Colby had a hard time keeping his eyes covered. He resisted the urge to simply grab his boss' head as he knew it would only fuel his panic. The air bubbles escaping from his mouth meant it wouldn't be long before he'd be forced to stop anyway. As soon as the struggles calmed, he reached forwards and pressed their mouths together.

Even as he fed Don air, Colby could feel a slight shift in him as he calmed again. Whatever had triggered the attack seemed to have passed for now. Gratefully, Colby came up for air himself, praying it wouldn't take much longer or he was sure there'd be more panic attacks. It was amazing they'd only had one so far.

* * *

Sunday: 3:23 AM, May 18th

 

' _Relax and trust them. Relax and trust them. Relax and trust them,_ ' Don ran the mantra in his mind over and over again, desperately hoping to convince himself and stave off the panic.

His control was briefly tested as he felt the manacle around his right wrist start to heat up. It took him a few seconds before he realized it was probably a good thing and could even be why his arm was being restrained.

Don turned his focus back on his mantra and the air Colby was providing him. He managed to block out enough of his situation that it took him a moment to realize that the pull of the manacle at his right wrist had suddenly vanished. It wasn't until the hands released their hold that the meaning of it penetrated his mind. Acting on pure instinct, he pushed himself up as far as he could and took in large gasping breaths of air as soon as his face broke the surface of the water. He was hacking and coughing the next instant as a wave rolled in, splashing water on his face and into his mouth.

Vaguely he heard Colby cursing as he coughed and shook his head, before a weight settled across his abdomen and the water stopped assaulting his face. Ironically enough, the salt stung his eyes more now than it had underwater and he had to scrub his free palm across them before he could even attempt to look about. Doing so, he found Colby straddling him, his back protecting him from the waves as they crested and broke about them.

"Thanks," Don finally managed after he felt he'd coughed up an entire lung and had taken in enough air to attempt talking.

"Anytime," Colby's voice sounded like it was coming from an impossibly great distance.

It was the water in his ears, Don realized, it was still muffling the sound. Even as he reached up to dislodge it, he felt himself start to slide back down, his strength failing him. Just before he'd have gone under again, he felt hands grabbing his shoulders and lifting him up again before they were replaced with a more solid bulk. Letting his head tip back, he found he was leaning on David.

"You still with us, man?" David asked.

Don merely nodded, too exhausted to talk though he did reach up and clear his ears as much as he could. His heart still felt like it was running a marathon while his lungs continued to take short, gasping breaths. Normal hearing returned to him in a swirl of sounds; the splashing of people moving in the water, David's breathing, the nightmarish sound of water crashing along the shore.

"Agent Eppes," the voice was female and unfamiliar. Don slowly turned his head to the left and peered through stinging eyes at her. "I need you to hold your left hand still while we work. It'll probably burn again, but it's necessary to get you free. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Don whispered, his eyes drifting past her to the other man and the torch he held.

He was just about to turn his head back when markings in the rock beyond caught his attention. There, carved just above where the chain was welded to the rock, was a simple upside-down triangle.

Water.

The fourth and final element.

It suddenly hit Don that he was the fourth victim. A victim, him. Funny how that particular detail hadn't occurred to him at all since he'd been shot with the dart. Sure, he'd realized exactly what his situation was, but he hadn't made the conscious connection to the word and all its connotations. The others probably hadn't seen themselves as such either and yet that was all they'd ever been to him. Victims.

"Don, you still with us?" Colby asked, leaning forwards with a frown.

Don turned his head to look at him and attempted to smile, but knew he must have failed as Colby's concern didn't lessen any. He closed his eyes as some spray from a wave found its way to his face. He reached up to wipe it off and then glanced down at his arm, wondering why it felt so heavy.

Oh, the manacle and chain. They were still there, he'd forgotten about that. He blinked at them for a moment before letting his arm drop. They'd get them off later.

"Control, this is Unit 3, over," David said.

Don glanced up at him, seeing him holding his hand near his mouth and he snorted.

"What?" David asked, meeting his eyes.

"Water," was all Don could manage, his throat still feeling far too raw and his lungs not yet ready to share his mouth with words.

"Huh?"

"He's right, your mike is toast," Colby explained with a smile.

"I thought they were supposed to be water resistant."

"Not salt water."

"Damn."

"I left mine with the equipment," Shanagan stated just as Don felt the tension in his left wrist go lax. "There, let's get him up."

"Can you stand?" Colby inquired, studying him closely.

Don pondered the question for a second, biting back the instinctive ' _yes_.' Saying so would be stupid if he'd just plunge under again should his strength give out. "No," he admitted.

"S'okay, I got you," David stated as he hoisted Don up with Colby's help.

"You got him?" Colby asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll let Control know what's going on."

In the distance the sound of sirens broke through the silence of the night and Don smiled. It sounded like a small fleet of official vehicles was rushing towards them. For once he'd actually be glad to see an ambulance, then at least he could lie down comfortably on something other than sand and without the fear of drowning.

He was so tired.

"Don, man, stay with me here," David ordered, jostling him gently to get his attention. "No dozing off until an EMT says it's okay."

"Tyrant," Don muttered.

"That's me."

A sudden flash of memory had Don lifting his head. "417."

"What?"

"2KJF."

"417 2KJF?"

"No," Don shook his head in frustration.

"What is it?"

"2KJF417."

"You got to give me something more than that, Don."

"License."

"License... wait, 2KJF417, is that the license plate of the killer?" David questioned in disbelief. "You saw it?"

Don merely nodded.

"Colby!"

"What?" Colby asked, rushing back towards them. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, our killer's made his first mistake, Don saw his plates."

"No," Don disagreed, fighting off the encroaching darkness. "Not he. She."

"The killer's female?" Colby questioned, needing to be sure.

"Yeah."

"Don, did she inject you with something?" David suddenly demanded, worried at how quickly his boss was fading.

"Dart."

Colby lunged forwards and caught an arm as Don suddenly went limp in David's arms. "He's out! Perez, we need him free now."

"Almost there."

Suddenly they were surrounded by more people as the paramedics and additional agents arrived on the scene. A blanket was thrown over Don and David felt more of his weight taken as others moved in to help.

"How long has he been unconscious?" someone demanded.

"Less than a minute," Colby replied, trying to make room. "He was submerged for a good twenty-five minutes with mouth-to-mouth as his only source of air."

"Damn. Was he coherent afterwards? Did he know where he was?"

"Yes to both," David stated as the final chain was cut and Don was hoisted up and carried to a waiting stretcher. "Though he didn't speak more than a few words together."

"He swallowed a fair amount of water and his eyes were bothering him," Colby added, trying to think of anything else they might need to know. "He's probably been drugged, he mentioned a dart."

"Do we know with what?"

"No."

"He's freezing. How long has he been in the water?"

"No idea."

"Nathalie, get an IV in him, Jim we need more blankets here. Let's move people, we need to get him to the hospital."

It wasn't until a series of agents and EMTs carried the gurney off across the beach and he spotted two EMTs waiting by David, that Colby realized he was completely soaked and just how cold it was.

* * *

Sunday: 1:29 PM, May 18th

 

"Hello," Megan said as she knocked lightly on the door and entered.

"Megan, hey," Don greeted her with a large smile, though his voice still wasn't quite normal.

"Where is everyone? I'd have expected at least your father and brother to be here."

"The nurse threw them out, said they had to go eat."

"Really? I wish I had seen that."

"It was quite the show. I haven't seen that particular type of consternation on either of their faces since Mom died," Don commented as Megan took the seat closest to the bed which his father had monopolized since his arrival.

"How are you feeling? Colby and David tell me you'll be okay."

"Yeah, well, you know," Don said, holding up his arms to show the bandaged wrists. "They're worried about infection at the wounds and in my lungs given how dirty seawater is."

"Your lungs too? I thought Colby had gotten to you in time."

"Oh, he got to me before I started seriously inhaling it, but I did swallow a fair amount altogether. And, well, with the strain from being deprived of so much air, they think my lungs may be particularly vulnerable. But it's nothing I can't handle."

"This isn't going to vanish overnight, Don."

"Yeah, well, we'll see, right."

"How did I know you'd say that?" Megan shook her head.

"How come you're here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I thought you were going after the woman."

"We did, we have her."

"Already?"

"Turns out she used her own car to transport you, so it was very easy to locate both her and her father. Got your hair and DNA on the backseat too, along with McNamara's and Polinski's."

"Nothing like supporting forensic evidence. What's the deal, though? Why did she do it?"

"Looks like it did go back to the '92 case Hawkins and McNamara worked on," Megan explained. "Her mother was one of the major drug lords involved in the operation that was shut down. Only she refused to lay down her weapon and was killed in the resulting crossfire."

"And her daughter blames us? She couldn't have been more than four or five years old at the time."

"Six, actually, and it looks like her father is the one who fostered the hatred and anger in her. From what I could see at the house, he raised her to hate federal agencies and the people working for them."

"So, what, he groomed her to kill the men involved in his wife's death?"

"That is what I think at present."

"And the whole four element thing?"

"Some type of control mechanism or so. Perhaps it even ties back to the mother somehow, I need more time to look into that. When we arrived on the scene, she didn't resist us at all, claiming that she was above us and our lowly laws. When Colby informed her those lowly laws would get her a lethal injection, she merely smiled and said it was too late; that she'd already achieved aether."

"Aether, isn't that Larry's fifth element?"

"Larry's, eh? He'll like that," Megan teased as Don glared at her. "But yes, that is the fifth element he was taking about, the 'heavenly' substance."

"Wait, she thinks she's now somehow above us mere mortals? From killing agents?"

"Apparently she has somehow come to tie the belief of the five elements into the bloodlust her father instilled in her."

"She'll get off with an insanity plea."

"Probably," Megan agreed. "But you'll be pleased to know that she changed her tune remarkably when she learned that you had survived."

"Changed, how?"

"Her belief in being above us seems to be tied to the successful completion of a kill with each of the other four elements. Without that, she apparently doesn't reach aether."

"And since she didn't get water, she doesn't get to, what, ascend?"

"Something like that," Megan agreed with a smile. "David has made a copy of the tape so you can see her reaction for yourself."

"What's the deal with Polinski and me? We weren't involved in the operation that killed her mother."

"No, but the FBI agent she wanted to target died in a car crash five years ago and she somehow seems to think each element needed to come from a different agency and since there were only three involved in the incident-"

"She needed a fourth. So DHS was chosen at random, I'm sure they'll feel honored," Don said as he shifted slightly, trying to find the right words. "Look, I wanted to thank you for getting to me in time."

"It was more Charlie than anyone else. He figured out how she was selecting her victims and that you were the most likely candidate from the Bureau. Without that we would never have realized you were missing in time. Nor would we have found you without his equations."

"But it was you who got him to focus on the problem. I can tell you from experience that's no easy feat, and you had the foresight to send SWAT along," Don continued, shuddering involuntarily as the helplessness and panic rose again in his mind. "If that torch hadn't been there... well, I wouldn't be here now."

"You're welcome," Megan whispered after a moment, the mere possibility enough to chill her to the bone.

 

August 2008


End file.
